Housing market ‘remains resilient’ despite first price dip since 2023
A slight fall in house prices reflects a “fairly subdued” market but ongoing resilience remains encouraging, many property experts agree. The latest house price index from Lloyds shows a 0.2% reduction in the average house price in the UK, marking the first annual fall since November 2023. “The housing market has faced a more difficult […]
New collective mobilises SME and boutique firms to challenge COLP and COFA proposals
An alliance of SME and boutique law firms have called on the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to rethink proposals to separate the compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) and compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA) roles from “individuals with unilateral management control”. The SME & Boutique Law Firm Alliance describes itself as “an independent […]
‘Ground rent cap will save more than solar initiatives’, campaign group tells PM
Bringing forward the proposed £250 cap on ground rent would deliver more benefit to home owners than the government’s plans to tackle the cost of living with plug-in solar panels, according to a national campaign group. The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC), which represents more than 35,000 leaseholders across England and Wales, has written to the […]
New Law Society president to have ‘difficult conversations’ about disability inclusion
The incoming Law Society president has called for greater openness around disability in the legal sector. Brett Dixon, who will take up the post from October 2026, said improving disability inclusion is one of the key priorities for his presidential year. Dixon plans to host a series of events across the country with disabled solicitors, […]
Nine out 10 planning departments are short-staffed, HBF report reveals
The majority of local government planning departments in England and Wales are understaffed, according to new research from the Home Builders Federation (HBF). Nine out of 10 local authority planning departments are operating below full staffing capacity, according to the Planning on Empty report, produced by the HBF and Paragon Bank. The report is based […]